Knife sharpener



March 21, 1961 Filed Iviay 25, 1959 R. F. Mcc -ry KNIFE SHARPENER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.4

INVENTOR. ROBERT F. McOARTY March 1951 R. F. MCCARTY 75,658

KNIFE SHARPENER Filed May 25, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 z' z I! I .0 T? I n 7W I I I g 24 INVENTOR. ROBERT F. MCCARTY t KNIFE SHARPENER Filed May 25, 1959, Ser. No. 815,709 2 Claims. or. 76-86) This invention relates to sharpeners and more particularly to a sharpener for sharpening the cutting edges of knives.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a completely self contained and compact knife sharpener which will conveniently sharpen the cutting edge of a UnitedStatesPatent' knife each time it is drawn through the sharpening edges thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a knife sharpener having a plurality of permanently mounted sharpening elements in predisposed relationship, thereby eliminating any unnecessary adjustments, and thus accommodating all types of knives to be sharpened thereby. 1

Still an additional object of the present invention is to provide a completely self contained knife sharpener of the above type that can be readily incorporated in a knife rack, thus enabling each knife to be sharpened each time it is drawn out of or replaced within such rack.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a knife sharpener bearing the above objects in mind which is i of simple construction, has a minimum number of parts, is inexpensive to manufacture and efiicient in operation.

For other objects and for a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which: 7

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a knife sharpener made in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end view of the sharpener shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of a sharpening block forming a part of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a rear elevational view of the sharpening block shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a front elevational view of the sharpening block shown in Figure 3;

Figure 6 is aside elevational view of the knife sharpener shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 7 is a plan view of a knife rack embodying a plurality of knife Sharpeners made in accordance with the present invention.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, and ,more particularly to Figures 1 to 6 thereof, a knife sharpener 10 made in accordance with the present invention is shown to include an elongated shallow frame 12 having a plurality of individual sharpening blocks 14 sup- ;ported therewithin on alternately opposite sides. Each such block 14 includes a base side 15, a perpendicularly ;related rear side 17, and an arcuate face side 20. The

face side 20 includes a plurality of fine sharpening edges 21 which are operative to remove metal from and sharp- -en the edge of aknife blade drawn therethrough. The

arcuate face sides 20 of-the alternately oppositely disposed blocks 14 converge downwardly, as shown in Figure 2, to define an. elongated longitudinally extending guideway from which the knife blade is drawn.

When the knife blade is drawn past the sharpening Patented Mar. 21, 1961,

edges 21 on the face sides of the blocks 14 within the frame 12, both sides ofithe cutting edge of the knife are simultaneously sharpened, in'a simple and efficient manner. All of the sharpening blocks 14 are secured in the aforementioned alternately disposed positions by means of a-pair of longitudinally extending rods 16, which extend through aligned apertures 28 in each set of blocks on each side of the frame. Of course, these rods 16 may be removed to replace any worn blocks when required, should the need therefor ever arise.

In Figure 7 of the drawing, a plurality of substantially identical knife sharpeners 10 are mounted upon a common panel 24, and a knife guide block 26 is secured to the panel 24 adjacent to one end of each of such knife Sharpeners. This guide block 26 is preferably provided with slots 28, through which individual knives may be directed so as to support such knives upon the block in a manner similar to that used by conventional knife racks. As a result, the blade of the knife is drawn across the sharpening edges 21 of the associated knife sharpener each time it is withdrawn or replaced.

As is more clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawing, the point of intersection between the back side 17 and the arcuate face side 20 of each knife block is be within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

as defined by the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A knife sharpener comprising, in combination, a frame consisting of an upwardly opening tray of substantialy parallelopiped shape, a first plurality of sharpening blocks supported within and ,on one side of said frame and a second plurality of sharpening blocks supported withinand on the other side of said frame from said first plurality of sharpening blocks and defining therewith a longitudinal passageway slidably receiving a knife blade therethrough, each of said sharpening blocks comprising a flat base side, a perpendicularly related back side, and an arcuate front face side connected between the free ends of said base and back sides and tending laterally therethrough slidably receiving one of said rods, with said blocks being alternately carried by different ones of said rods on opposite sides of said frame throughout the entire length thereof with the arcuate front faces of the alternately positioned sharpening blocks on opposite sides of said frame and with the laterally spaced-apart converging fine'sharpening edges thereof being arranged and staggered in face-to-face relationship with the arcuateface side of a sharpening block and the laterally spaced-apart converging fine sharpening edges thereof on one side of said frame converging downwardly with and partially overlapping the corresponding face side of the next adjacent sharpening block and the plurality of laterally spaced-apart converging fine sharpening edges thereof on the opposite side of said frame.

2. The combination according to claim 1, further comprising a common mounting panel, a plurality of said frames secured in spaced apart parallel relationship upon said mounting panel, and a guide block slidably supporting a plurality of individual knives each in longitudinally' slidable relationship with one of said frames, for sharpening each said knife in response to longitudinal movement of each said knife through said respective frame. i V

UNITED STATES PATENTS Peer Dec. 29, 1891 Miller Apr. 14, 1896 Blankner May 16, 1933 San Cristoval Sept. 4, 1951 

